Julia Orwell

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Posts by Julia Orwell

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  19

  Do Wills Ever Affect Shunning?

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a man has several sons and daughters who are active jehovah's witnesses.

  so was his wife, who died two years ago.

  he has since lapsed into apostasy and has been openly critical of the governing body.

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  Julia Orwell

  I think it would.
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  62

  Well my JW elder dad has lost his job...

  by BU2B in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  as a little background, my dad became a jw in 1980 i think, went to bethel, married my mom in 86' went back for another year and then i came along... he worked in the auto repair shop at bethel while he was there, and upon leaving, continued working in this field.

  my whole life they have been the type of jw parents that tell you how you will never get to high school, never graduate it, never get married in this system, never have children in this system etc.. i say this to illustrate the end is just around the corner attitude they have always had, probably because they fully bought/buy into the hype at the conventions/wt articles.

  my father has no plan in place for retirement, and he is physically slowing down doing such hard laborious work.

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  Julia Orwell

  Hang on, maybe I've missed something here. Didn't you say the parents already have their own house and don't want to sell it, but want to move in with you? Why do they need to move in with you if they have a house they're not going to sell? I'm gathering they're going to rent the house out and live off the rent.
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  26

  "Is my life now more meaningful, and am I happier?"

  by Julia Orwell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so the question is posed in this week's watchtower study at our former cult's houses of indoctrination.

  i should like to answer it, and i should like to hear your answers too.. the question is in two parts, and i shall address each one in turn.. q. is my life more meaningful?.

  my life is more meaningful.

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  Julia Orwell

  My husband is doing very well also. He now has time and free conscience to get into things he likes, and is very contented. He's lost all his "friends" but my father and brother have really stepped into the breach and taken him in socially. He is preparing for the future. He was only a jw for maybe four years this time around, in contrast to my 14 so the indoctrination wasn't as strong for him.
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  26

  "Is my life now more meaningful, and am I happier?"

  by Julia Orwell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so the question is posed in this week's watchtower study at our former cult's houses of indoctrination.

  i should like to answer it, and i should like to hear your answers too.. the question is in two parts, and i shall address each one in turn.. q. is my life more meaningful?.

  my life is more meaningful.

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  Julia Orwell

  Thanks guys! The JW religion likes people to be losers and miserable but hey, we are breaking free of that.
• 
  36

  The eldaaaars again!!

  by ILoveTTATT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after two months of not coming to my house, today about two hours ago, one of the elders that came two months ago came to my house.

  he was in serve-us with other brothers from the spanish cong and came into my house with a friend of mine (not another elder).

  he said he wanted to talk to me, and he said it in front of my mom and my dad (both were there).. what was interesting is that it seems like it will be a one-on-one for half-hour.

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  Julia Orwell

  I dealt with them by deflecting them really. I would make small talk, ask about non-JW things and talk about what I was up to ie my work and that. THey'd start steering it toward JW things by saying, "Everyone at the KH misses you..." and I'd parry it by saying, "Yeaaaah." or "You get that." and then change the subject. One thing I learned from over a decade of being a JW in a non-JW home was how to deflect difficult questions, change the subject or find a reason to leave the room. It is a skill that helped me in my fade, and so I slipped through their nets. They don't bother me anymore.
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  26

  "Is my life now more meaningful, and am I happier?"

  by Julia Orwell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so the question is posed in this week's watchtower study at our former cult's houses of indoctrination.

  i should like to answer it, and i should like to hear your answers too.. the question is in two parts, and i shall address each one in turn.. q. is my life more meaningful?.

  my life is more meaningful.

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  Julia Orwell

  So the question is posed in this week's WatchTower study at our former cult's houses of indoctrination.

  I should like to answer it, and I should like to hear your answers too.

  The question is in two parts, and I shall address each one in turn.

  Q. Is my life more meaningful?

  A. Yes. My life is more meaningful. I am free of the WT-induced guilt and fear, feelings which hindered any feeling of 'meaning' in life. If you live in fear, your meaning in life is just to survive. Just surviving or existing does not make you happy- just ask any refugee living near starvation in a stinking camp. But yes, now I am free of that fear and pressure, I find tremendous meaning in my improved relationship with my family, especially my beloved mother who suffered so much grief at my hands during the years I was a JW. My life has more meaning because instead of being in a sort of limbo waiting for Armageddon, I am moving on with my life. My husband and I have been approved for a home loan, and we have just put in an offer on a little house. We will not be like so many JWs in their 70's who still rent and are struggling on the pension.

  Our little house, should our offer and finance be accepted, will give us meaning as we can make it our own by renovating it and know we can never be asked to leave it or have the payments increased. As a renter who has to get permission from the landlord to hang a picture, these are very meaningful perks. We shall also have some equity which can help us provide for ourselves when we can no longer work.

  I am also finding meaning in my work. After years of working a WT approved 'job' that nearly paralysed my brain (but afforded me time to go to meetings) I am now pursuing my teaching career. I love working with teenagers, and am setting up my own tutoring/academic coaching business, as well as doing substitute teaching until I can work my way into a cozy school. I am also taking some online courses to help me improve in my subject knowledge. That and, I have set myself up as a bit of an artist and have already received commissions and sold prints. I have also taken a summer job at a water slide park, which I love immensely because I get to meet lots of happy people and families, and derive meaning from providing excellent service.

  Q. Am I happier?

  A. I am happier, and have medical evidence to prove it. I am on half the antidepressant medication I was as a JW, my anxiety disorder has disappeared, I no longer wake up screaming from nightmares every night (or taking valium to suppress them) and my physical welbeing is increasing.

  I am infinitely happier that I can be myself with no-one judging me.

  I am infinitely happier that I can use my time to develop meaning.

  I am infinitely happier that I can believe what I find to be true through my historical research, and can talk about it freely to my friends and family.

  My family tell me they've never seen me so happy. Without guilt and fear and sheer mental exhaustion, it is easy to find happiness in even simple things like sitting on the couch with the cat. I am no longer so exhausted from being torn apart by cognitive dissonnance and the mental gymnastics needed to reconcile it. That leaves me with more energy to devote to things from which I derive meaning, such as family, study, literature, knowledge, art and work.

  I am open to explore, as my father used to tell me when I was younger when in frustration he would say, "Sheree, the world is your oyster. You are wasting your time with this mob." He always referred to the cult as "this mob" or "your mob". And he was right. I gave up opportunities to be a damn good teacher, writer, artist, musician, contracts administrator, intrepid traveller, and swapped it for a life of conformity and rigidity.

  And although now my health is shot from the cult and my energetic 20's are now behind me, I am happy. Happy that I can be, happy that I can surround myself with love and meaning, and not live in that oppressive atmosphere that made me physically and mentally ill.

  Thank you for reading.
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  36

  Weekend Warning - Family May be after You Come Sunday, be ready.

  by LostGeneration in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the wt this weekend:.

  help those who have become inactive.. jesus said that there is joy in.

  heaven when just one lost sheep is.

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  Julia Orwell

  Ooooh Black Sheep, tell us more!
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  58

  What do you say if you get asked "Are you an Apostate?"

  by KateWild in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am reuniting with past students and return visits.. i met up with a young lad i used to call on.

  he is not baptised, but at university in his 20's and living away from home.

  his mother is a jw and his father is not.

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  Julia Orwell

  I've actually said the following: "I was baptized Anglican when I was a kid, and I left the Anglicans and became a jw, so technically I'm an apostate to the Anglican church." The elder had no comeback for that one.
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  36

  Weekend Warning - Family May be after You Come Sunday, be ready.

  by LostGeneration in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the wt this weekend:.

  help those who have become inactive.. jesus said that there is joy in.

  heaven when just one lost sheep is.

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  Julia Orwell

  Hey, a purple plastic toy can make Jehovah sad so he's one emotionally sensitive dude.
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  11

  How to Cause a Hardcore JW Brain to Malfunction

  by Apognophos in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am leaving it to the reader to decide whether this trick is funny in a cruel way, or potentially beneficial.

  it can definitely be used for evil, that is to say, personal amusement.

  then again, it could be a kind way to help someone start thinking outside the box.

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  Julia Orwell

  Tried something similar with the fds thing and the jw just said, "but that's what we've always believed.." this from a jw of 40 years.